Winterfeast your way through Bundaberg with this DIY food festival itinerary

If you’re a lover of fresh local produce and buying straight from the farmer,Bundaberg is the perfect spot to put on your bucket list. From beautiful fresh seafood and avocados to sweet potatoes and the tastiest strawberries you’ll ever eat, there is a foodie’s paradise waiting to greet you.

In this sub-tropical locale when winter comes there’s no reason to hibernate. In fact, Bundaberg dials up the foodie paradise to 10 with the annual Winterfeast food festival celebrating all things chewable, slurpable and sippable.

If you can’t make Winterfeast then this helpful itinerary will keep you in maximum flavour zone throughout the rest of the year.

7:30AM: Get your taste buds dancing

Start the day the indulgently with a true paddock to plate experience with breakfast at Indulge Café. Using all local produce, the seasonal menu which oozes ingredients such as truffle, pecans and house-made pickles will leave you salivating for days (maybe even weeks) to come. With so many delicious options to choose from, don’t be surprised if you find yourself undoing the top button on your pants to fit in just one more scrumptious mouthful.

Saturday sidenote: For 24-hour fermented traditional sourdough bread swing in early to the Pocket Storehouse. Their limited opening hours (on Saturdays only) means you’ll have to be quick to wrap your lips around their caramelised onion, fig and feta sourdough brioche.

9AM: Strawberry delights

Strawberry lovers will find themselves in heaven between May and November each year in ‘Bundy’. With seven strawberry farms dotted across the region, you certainly won’t be short for choice.

Head north out of town and pick your own at SSS Strawberries or choose one of their pre-packed punnets. If you’re happy to explore a little, take a drive south towardsElliot Heads and make a stop at both Tinaberries and Luscious Fruit for some more sweet and succulent strawberry delights.

10:30AM: Trawl the roadside stalls

As you take in the scenery keep an eye peeled for one of the many roadside stalls and pick up some fresh produce straight from the farmer. The produce on offer will vary depending on the season but is always worth a look.

Stalls mostly operate on an honesty system, so it’s a good idea to have some spare change on you. A kilo of sweet potatoes for $2 – sweet potato chips, anyone?

11:30AM: To market, to market

Eating in tonight? If you need to pick up a few items in one spot, Alloway Farm Market is the place to go. Sourcing produce from local farmers, the seasonal range rotates through apples, avocados, onions, cauliflower, tomatoes and snow peas, just to name a few.

If you’re a fan of figs, grab some of the well-known local Forbidden Figs. With a winter crop produced in Alloway’s greenhouse, you’ll be able to indulge all year round. It’s also a great opportunity to purchase a bunch of fresh flowers.

When is one coffee enough? Never! You are in luck with local coffee roastery Barking Dog setting up on-site at the markets. Head to Colombia, Brazil or Ethiopia without packing a bag by trying their special origin coffees or stick with an in-house blend.

1PM: Seafood galore

There’s nothing better than fresh seafood straight from the trawlers. If you’re a fan of spanner crab and crustaceans, Ocean Pacific Seafoods in Port Bundaberg is the place to go.

If your belly is starting to grumble, why not make a stop at Grunske’s by the River in East Bundaberg, which offers fresh and cooked seafood. Grab some takeaway lunch, sit by the river and plan your next stop.

3PM: Re-stock the pantry

On hearing the nameNana’s Pantry, visions of grandma’s kitchen stocked with freshly-made biscuits, cakes and jams race through my mind. Nana’s Pantry is all this gloriousness and more!

With a wide range of local gourmet produce including local honey, fudge, Claxton olives, Baffle Creek Dairy products and Emilia’s pasta, it’s a great place to grab some snacks for your travels or those special additions for your pantry at home. Craving something sweet after lunch? Treat yourself to the gelato. It’s made fresh on site each day from local ingredients to concoct mouthwatering flavours such as Turkish delight and honeycomb.

If you missed Leonie’s Chai on Indulge Cafe’s menu, fear not, you can stock up here. With over 20 years of meditative blending, you can choose between caffeine-free rooibos or Daintree black tea.

There are many more amazing farm gates and retailers to explore in addition to the ones above. Check out the Pick of the Crop food guide for a full list of what’s on offer and a seasonal guide for fresh produce. If you’re keen to take a bigger bite out of Bundy, use this 48-hour guide.

Author

A Toowoomba girl born and bred, Katie is now living in Brisbane and experiencing all that it has to offer. A lover of travel, food, markets and all things creative. If she's not casually strolling a market picking up fresh produce on the weekend, you'll find her cooking up a storm in the kitchen.